Coastal areas from Alaska to northern California, including Olympic
National Park (ONP), are home to unique forests often referred to as
"temperate rainforests". High annual precipitation and mild winter
temperatures in these areas result in immense trees and a lush
non-vascular flora. The aesthetic experience of visitors to ONP is
strongly influenced by the communities of mosses, lichens and
liverworts that drape its tree branches and carpet the ground. These
organisms, also called 'non-vascular cryptogams' in reference to their
simple structure and small size, contribute significantly to the
unique character of the park.

Non-vascular cryptogams have important ecological roles in addition
to comprising a significant portion of forest biomass. They influence
availability of water by intercepting rainfall and fog, reduce the
effects of torrential rain, prolong water input after precipitation
has stopped, and maintain high humidity which aids growth of other
forest vegetation. They provide shelter and nesting materials for
animals and birds, and winter forage for deer and small
mammals. Non-vascular cryptogams also have a role in nutrient
cycling. Most of their nutrients come from the atmosphere and are
subsequently added to the rest of the system either through leaching
by rainwater or during decomposition after falling from trees as
litter. In some systems the nutrient contribution from non-vascular
plant litterfall is comparable to that from all vascular plant
litter. A significant source of nitrogen in Olympic forest is
litterfall of the nitrogen fixing lichen Lobaria
oregana.

Lobaria oregana

Consequently, ONP is concerned about the conservation of mosses,
lichens and liverworts for many reasons. They are obviously an
important aesthetic and functional part of park ecosystems, they are
susceptible to changes in air quality, precipitation chemistry and
climate, and some species are extremely rare. They are also of
management concern because they are illegally harvested from the park
in increasing amounts for sale to the floral industry.

In 1994, the US Department of Interior and the US Department of
Agriculture (including the US Forest Service) agreed to the Northwest
Forest Plan (NWFP) as a way to manage federal forests in the range of
the Northern Spotted Owl to comply with the requirements of the
Endangered Species Act. Part of the plan requires that the US Forest
Service survey for a list of rare species to assure their absence
before ground disturbing activities can occur. This list includes 113
species of mosses, lichens and liverworts. These species are thought
to be old-growth dependent and to be relatively rare. In some cases,
little is known about their specific habitat requirements and their
true abundance. ONP is a potential reservoir of these species and
knowledge of the park's cryptogam populations would benefit the US
Forest Service.

In 1999, ONP received funds from Canon, USA and US Geological
Survey (USGS) to create a photographic field guide to the mosses,
lichens and liverworts of ONP, verify herbarium specimens, and begin
an inventory. Among other things, this effort resulted in the
discovery of at least 4 nationally rare species and the addition of
almost 150 new species to the herbarium, of which 25 were previously
unknown on the Olympic Peninsula. In 2000, USGS awarded a Parks
Oriented Research grant to Andrea Woodward and Ed Schreiner to
continue the inventory in a more systematic way. Martin and Karen
Hutten are providing the technical expertise, fieldwork, sample
identification and archiving, and data summary. They are helped by
James Walton, members of the ONP vegetation crew, and many greatly
appreciated volunteers.

Methods

The inventory was conducted in ONP by crews of two people who hiked
trails that crossed major environmental gradients in several
watersheds. They visited randomly selected points within
representative habitat categories and also sought rare environments
predicted to have high diversity (e.g., seeps, bogs, coastal lakes,
alpine, etc.) They collected samples and made field identifications
when possible, and collected physical and vegetation descriptive data
for each collection site. In total, over 7000 samples were
collected.

How the Information Will Be Used

Information from this project will benefit ONP and the National
Park Service in many ways. It will attend to a group of organisms,
some of which are rare, that has largely been ignored. These organisms
are important monitoring indicators of human-caused stresses and will
be important to include in ecological monitoring programs under
development nation-wide in collaboration with USGS. Cryptogams are
also subject to illegal harvest. This project will help the park
evaluate damage caused by this practice. Finally, it will help ONP
fulfill its obligation to aid regionally-based forest management
mandated by the Northwest Forest Plan.

These data are also being used by the US Forest Service to justify
modifications to the list of species covered by the Northwest Forest
Plan. The park also serves as a training site for US Forest Service
survey crews where they can see and learn the specific habitat
requirements for particular cryptogam species. Finally, these data are
being used by the US Forest Service to develop a habitat model for
selected Northwest Forest Plan species.

Data are also being shared with the Washington Natural Heritage
Program to aid its current effort to identify species for listing as
threatened or endangered in Washington State.

Products

Stemming from this research was the publication of a new field
guide entitled, "101 Common Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens of the
Olympic Peninsula", through a cooperative effort between the USGS,
Canon USA, Inc., National Park Foundation, Olympic National Park, and
the Northwest Interpretive Association. The booklet, authored by
Martin Hutten, Karen Hutten, and USGS scientist, Andrea Woodward, is
easy to use with close-up photos and non-technical descriptions that
offer tips for identification. Copies of the booklet can be obtained
from the Seattle (206-553-4270) or Portland (503-221-6217) Government
Printing Office for $8.95 each, ISBN 016-066471-3.

Online Database of Distribution, Photographs and Habitat

Much of the data collected has been organized into a web searchable database.
The database also provides links to many striking photographs of the cryptogams
of the ONP. Access to the databases and the images can be through either an easy-to-use
clickable map of the region or through the a text based page with drop-down menus
and links. Click here to see the
Sampling Site Distribution
in and near the ONP.

Data compiled and photographs taken by
Martin and Karen Hutten
This page designed and hosted by NACSE as part of the Pacific Northwest
NBII Node project.
Funding for research was provided by Olympic National Park, Forest Service, Canon, USA and USGS